Review: The Night Is Mine by M.L. Buchman

The Night Is Mine
by M.L. Buchman
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published February 1st 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN 1402258100
Courtesy of SourceBooks & NetGalley

NAME: Emily Beale                               RANK: Captain                               MISSION: Fly undercover to prevent the assassination of the First Lady, posing as her executive pilot.
NAME: Mark Henderson, code name Viper   RANK: Major                               MISSION: Undercover role of wealthy, ex-mercenary boyfriend to Emily
Their jobs are high risk, high reward:
Protect the lives of the powerful and the elite at all cost. Neither expected that one kiss could distract them from their mission. But as the passion mounts between them, their lives and their hearts will both be risked...and the reward this time may well be worth it.

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Crystal’s Thoughts:
The Night is Mine is a fast paced thrill ride of action and romance taking readers from the sweltering deserts of Afghanistan to the dazzling glitters of the White House. 


Emily Beale is the first woman SOAR pilot and she is determined to prove that she has what it takes. Not shying away from the risky missions, she gets her crew in and out of tight situations with a cool head quickly earning the respect of her fellow soldiers and her hard-ass but sexy commanding officer, The Viper. When she is shipped out and away from her unit for a covert mission in the White House though, her world is turned upside down. Masquerading as the First Lady’s chef and personal bodyguard, Emily must find the traitor who is after the First Lady. But what she finds instead could be even more dangerous; deception, intrigue and betrayal run rampant through these gilded halls and not everyone will make it out unscathed.
Major Mark Henderson, a.k.a. The Viper, is a top-notch pilot and runs his unit like a well oiled machine. With his cool attitude, mirrored Ray Bans and sparse compliments, Mark has strived to treat Emily like any other of his soldiers, pushing her to be her best and has never been disappointed. He knows the attraction he feels for her can never be acknowledge unless he wants to see himself court marshaled. When Emily is sent packing on a mysterious mission though Mark refuses to sit idly by while one of his own gets thrown to the dogs. Pulling in every favor her can, Mark takes a leave and follows Emily to D.C. Posing as her boyfriend, he has no clue to what he’s about to wade into but Mark refuses to leave Emily floundering by herself. Little did either of them know that they’d see more action state side then they ever saw in Afghanistan. 
Passion flares and danger ignites, can Emily and Mark discover the supposed traitor before they succeed in taking the First Lady’s life? And if they can make it out of this mission alive, a relationship with her commanding officer if still against the rules, will Emily even be able to return to the unit she thinks of as home after all is said and done?


The Night is Mine is my first read from a male romantic suspense author and I have to say, I loved it! The story kept me hooked the entire time; the author provided plenty of action to keep my excited, twists that kept me guessing and romance that had my heart pounding. 


The characters of the story were in depth and endearing. The hero and heroine, Emily and Mark, were both kick ass characters that balanced each other perfectly. I enjoyed all of Emily’s dimensions; she was a well developed heroine with a solid history that plays into the current plot. With an F.B.I. director for a father, a socialite mother and a childhood crush for the boy next-door who turns out to be the President of the United States of America and husband to the woman she is assigned to protect, you can imagine how all those little points can come into play in this story of political intrigue. Throw in her amazing chopper flying skills as well as her knowledge of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, good looks and culinary skills and you have someone who will give even Lara Croft a run for her money! 


And then there’s Mark, the alpha in charge with a surly attitude that surprisingly let’s Emily do her own thing without getting in her way. That’s not to say he’s happy with it all but he supports her no questions asked. But he also has this super sweet side that you get a first glimpse of when Emily is injured. Strong, sexy and swoon worthy, this hero is sure to capture female reader’s hearts. The relationship that unfolds between Emily and Mark was smoothly written and captivating and the love scenes were good but lacked detail. The kind of detail that smutty girls like me crave! I think that would be the only difference that I found from reading a romance from a male perspective versus a female one. 


I would have liked to see more from the SOAR unit in the story, and yes, the main plot and eventual villain was unrealistic but never-the-less entertaining. Like I said, it kept me hooked. And the cover? That adds a star all its own. Haha, just kidding. The Night is Mine was a fun action-packed read and as long as you don’t put too much into the actual realism of it and just enjoy the ride, you’re sure to love the romantic suspense. After all, this is fiction. I’m looking forward to the next installment, I Own the Dawn. (August 2012)

Rating: 4 Wine Glasses, a good start to what I expect will be a fantastic new romantic suspense series!